Reporter Lu Mi reported that after losing 0-2 to Oman, the Chinese men's national football team's trip to the World Preliminary Tournament finally came to an end, and the reality of being out of the World Cup qualifiers for five consecutive times was somewhat collapsing and also caused collective reflection in the industry. Li Xiaopeng, the current coach of the national football team, said in an interview after the game, "Many players have been brought by me in the club, but when it comes to the national team, it is almost another state, which I cannot accept. "The implication is that the performance of the international team at the club and the performance of the national team are in stark contrast.
The topic of contrast is not the first time it has been mentioned, and at the time of the surge of gold dollar football, it has attracted the attention of fans and the media, but specific to this World Preliminary Round and some performances of the league last season, it seems that the contrast is not particularly obvious.
Li Xiaopeng was interviewed after the World Preliminary Round and talked about many aspects of the national team, and the main direction of expression was "strength is not good, can not be played", which is the core issue. But beyond the core issues, what everyone is talking about is what exactly is the cause of this situation. Li Xiaopeng pointed out in an interview, "Many players have been brought by me in the club, but when it comes to the national team, it is almost another state, which I cannot accept." ”
In the past few years, some people have mentioned this aspect of the problem, but a few years ago, the domestic league was in its heyday, the international football team in the club's salary level reached an unimaginable level, in the national team training, if the game is injured, it may cause missed the club's game, perhaps there will be players feel that the gain is not worth the loss, so in many international competitions, the performance has been affected, fans think that the players "can not work", "walking"...
But in the past two seasons, the situation in the league has been different, the salary reduction order and other regulations have reduced the income of players, and many clubs have also experienced unpaid wages, and the basis for not working the national team and going back to the club to play well no longer exists.
There are multiple reasons for the decline in the competitive status of players.
The good form of the international team needs to be guaranteed by the league, and only in the rhythm of a stable and high-quality league can it enter the game faster after reaching the national team. Since 2020, the global epidemic outbreak has continued, the Chinese Super League has not officially opened until July, almost all the clubs have been intensively trained since January 2020, up to six months without competition, replaced by repeated training, so that the state of athletes has not always reached the normal level.
For two consecutive seasons, the league uses the tournament system, if in 2020 because of the opening night had to suppress the schedule and let the format become 3 days a game, it is still understandable, but last season after having the experience of the previous season, the second stage of the game is still arranged according to the rhythm of 3 days and 1 game, in order to make way for the national team to participate in the World Preliminary Tournament, the entire league format and process have been adjusted, which is not in line with the normal physiological recovery law of athletes.
Long-term closed management, the league is almost all 3 days 1 game, the club's salary arrears and the problem of survival are frequent, for the international football team, it is quite difficult to have a stable and scientific training and competition environment.
Li Xiaopeng mentioned in the interview, "So confident in the club, playing well against the best foreign players in the world." After putting on the national team clothes, the opponent is C Ronaldo? Messi? Our midfielders face Fellaini, Paulinho, Talisca and Augusto in the league, while defenders face Teixeira, Oscar and Hulk. But when it comes to the national team, in the face of players we can't call, they all have more than enough and lack of strength, which is difficult for me to accept. ”
Similarly, in the past two years, because the epidemic could not return to China smoothly, many big-name foreign aides chose to terminate their contracts with Chinese Super League clubs, and in addition, due to changes in treatment, some foreign aid also chose to leave. Paulinho, Talisca, Augusto, Teixeira, Hulk, etc., all stopped playing in the Chinese Super League last season. In the second stage of last year's competition, there were a large number of teams using all-Chinese class competitions, such as Guangzhou and Hebei.
Perhaps, it is also the lack of opportunities to continue to compete with world-class players, in the relatively low pressure of the game environment, but also let the international players relax for themselves, and is not conducive to the maintenance of the state. Although the reduction of foreign aid will theoretically allow international footballers and young players to get more game time, under the tight schedule of the tournament system, clubs also need to consider the problem of avoiding injuries and avoiding player fatigue, which will reduce the number of players participating in the game.
On the whole, the status of the international team cannot be compared with the normal times in the past.
During the World Preliminary Tournament, a total of 39 players in the national football team have played records, 30 people who played more than 100 minutes and 17 people who played more than 300 minutes. The national football team changed the head coach during the round of 12, and Li Tie and Li Xiaopeng had different criteria in the selection of materials and employment, including the use of naturalized international footballers, so in the last few games, some players who had not been reused before entered the starting lineup.
Let's take a look at the league performance of the internationals in the past season, it should be said that most of them have played for the national team before playing for the national team, in fact, the situation and status of their respective clubs are very average.
As the top scorer of the Chinese national team during the World Preliminary Round, Wu Lei's situation at the club in the past two seasons has been somewhat difficult. In La Liga this season, Wu Lei has made 16 appearances for Espanyol so far, only 3 starts, with a total playing time of only 320 minutes, averaging 20 minutes per game, 0 goals, 0 assists. In the cup, Wu Lei had slightly more opportunities, making 4 appearances, including 2 starts, averaging 38 minutes per game, scoring a goal and an assist. Before the 2020-2021 La Liga, Wu Lei made 31 appearances in the league, with 2 goals and 2 assists. For two consecutive seasons, Wu Lei did not gain the trust of head coach Moreno in espanyol, and gradually changed from a rotating player to a marginal player.
Wu Lei is currently the only Chinese international to play in europe's five major leagues, and although the situation is not ideal, Wu Lei's training level and quality of play at the club are obviously better than those of his teammates in the national team.
In addition to Wu Lei, the other international players during the World Preliminary Tournament are from the Chinese Super League (Li Lei did not play for the national team after staying in Yang).
In the World Preliminary Round, especially during the Round of 12, Axon and Zhang Yuning were basically the starting choices of the national football team, and both had a stable playing time at their respective clubs, Axon scored 11 goals in the Chinese Super League last season, ranking second in the top scorer list; Zhang Yuning started at the Beijing Guoan stadium and scored 10 goals. Wu Xinghan was the main winger of the national team before his injury, he made 14 league appearances last season, 3 goals and 1 assist; Alain made 12 league appearances last season, scoring 3 goals and having 5 assists; Luo Guofu could only come off the bench in Guangzhou, scoring 3 goals in 9 appearances; Liu Binbin made 19 league appearances, 11 starts, no goals, only 5 assists; Zhang Xizhe made 18 league appearances, with 4 goals and no assists; Tan Long made 22 appearances and scored 3 goals; Yu Dabao made 15 appearances in the league last season. The stats are 1 goal scored, 1 assist. Yu Dabao has changed to playing center-back in Beijing Guoan, and after arriving at the national team, he has also been pushed to the front line when he played at the back, and his performance has caused great controversy.
In midfield, Wu Xi made 17 league appearances for Shanghai Shenhua last season, with 3 goals and 2 assists; Xu Xin made 22 appearances in the Shandong Taishan League, also 3 goals and 2 assists; Arthur Junmin experienced a transfer last year, only 2 appearances in Shandong Taishan in the first half of the season, 13 appearances after joining Wuhan, but no goals scored in the whole season, only 3 assists; Jin Jingdao's appearance time in Taishan last season was not stable, 11 starts, contributed 1 assist Dai Weijun is very popular in Shenzhen, making 19 appearances in the league last season, scoring 3 goals and having 2 assists; Liao Lisheng suddenly entered the starting lineup in the last two World Preliminary Rounds, and he was an absolute main player in Guangzhou last season, making 19 appearances, scoring 1 goal and having 2 assists.
Defensively, Zhang Linqian, Wang Shenchao, Zhu Chenjie, Jiang Guangtai, Zheng Zheng and Gao Zhunyi are all the main players in their respective clubs. After Li Xiaopeng took charge, Liu Yang of Shandong Taishan entered the starting lineup of the national team, and Liu Yang started in the FA Cup last season and had a good performance, but in the league, he only started 9 times and scored 1 goal. In the goalkeeper position, during the round of 12, the starting goalkeeper of the national team has always been Yan Junling of Shanghai Harbor Team, last season in the Chinese Super League, Harbor team conceded 14 goals, which is the team with the fewest goals conceded in the entire Chinese Super League, Yan Junling personally made 53 saves, ranking in the middle, of course, this is more related to the overall strength of the Harbor team.
From the data such as playing time, goals and assists, it can be seen that among the more heavily used players in this World Preliminary Tournament, in addition to the front line of Axon and Zhang Yuning, most of them have not performed too well in the league, and even some players cannot guarantee a main position.
Some of the local players who performed well in the Chinese Super League last season did not get the opportunity to play for the national team in the World Preliminary Round. For example, Guo Tianyu, who scored 10 goals like Zhang Yuning, and Lu Wenjun, Wei Shihao, Yang Liyu and Lin Liangming, who followed the two, in addition, The goalkeeper Han Jiaqi, who ranked first in the number of saves in the Chinese Super League last season, Yan Dinghao, a local player with the most assists, and Deng Hanwen, a full-back with the most assists, are all "temporarily forgotten".